The field of this invention relates generally to floor coating applicators for applying, and otherwise spreading, a liquid coating uniformly over a floor or similar surface.
Prior art discloses such things as dry dust mop pads. Some mops having yarn strands extending around the entire periphery and, in some instances, between the body of the mop and the floor surface to which it is to be applied.
Some prior art disclose cleaning pads having an abrasive or cleaning material combined with high absorbent material for collecting material removed by the cleaning material.
Prior art also discloses mops and related devices that have a handle connected midway of a mop for moving the mop over a surface to be mopped.
The nature and substance of this invention is to provide a pad, such as lambs wool secured to a frame, to apply liquid coatings to a surface with one finish pass over the surface without leaving excess fluid streaks or over run fluid ridges along the sides, front or back of the pad as it is applied to the surface. Because of the nature of a natural lambs wool pad, it retains the liquid and dispenses it more evenly along the total area thereof than does a natural or synthetic yam type of pad.
When a lambs wool pad is moved across a surface, by a handle secured to the frame, liquid can be released from the pad in extremely even coats in the direct path of the lambs wool pad without the streaks associated with a yarn pad or other synthetic fiber pads. Often the surface being coated may have debris, which will cause a yam pad or other synthetic fill pads to leave streaks because these pads tend to drag the debris along the surface. The natural lambs wool pad allows this same debris to be engulfed into the fibers of wool. This tends to eliminate the chance of debris being dragged over the treated or coated surface through the finish.
The lambs wool pad, of this invention, has yam strands extending from the front and side edges. As the pad is moved forwardly over a liquid on the surface with the rear, or trailing side without the yam, following behind the natural lambs wool pad, the pad will tend to leave a smooth even thickness of liquid under, and in the path of, the pad as it moves over the liquid in a squeegee-like manner. A problem arises, however, because the liquid along the sides of the pad tend to leave a noticeable fluid run over ridge. The yam on the sides of the pad of this invention will evenly spread the coating, by feathering, or smoothing out these excess run over ridges.
Another problem arises when a pad is pushed forwardly into an area to spread applicant. In this event, where the pad stops and is then pulled in the opposite or reverse direction to continue the coating process, a noticeable over run line will tend to be left in the coating in front of the pad at this stop and reverse location.
It is an object of this invention to provide a floor coating applicator which can spread a liquid floor coating in two directions in a modified squeegee-like manner.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a floor coating applicator having an absorbent pad that will release and move floor treating fluid in a uniform film manner as it is moved over a floor or similar surface.
Another object of this invention is to provide a floor coating applicator having fluid spreading pad secured to a frame having a handle that is adjustably secured to the frame to facilitate manipulation of the frame and pad as the pad is moved to and from over a surface to be coated.
Also, an object of this invention is to provide a floor coating applicator having the pad and frame adjustably secured to a handle whereby a floor applying plane of the coating pad can be positioned, by the handle, in a plane parallel to a horizontal plane through the handle so that the applicator can be manipulated by the handle under low, or nominal, clearance spaces above the floor to be treated.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a floor coating applicator having yam strands extending outwardly from the front and two sides of the pad to feather, or smooth out, fluid run over, or run out, ridges caused by the squeegee-like action of the pad when it is moved to and from.